Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Shares Bought by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,666 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Ferguson by 303.7% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $904,000 after buying an additional 3,423 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the second quarter valued at about $2,834,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Ferguson during the first quarter worth about $26,379,000. Entropy Technologies LP increased its position in Ferguson by 66.2% during the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 51,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,256,000 after purchasing an additional 20,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Ferguson by 380.6% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 159,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,309,000 after purchasing an additional 126,242 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FERG. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group raised their target price on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ferguson news, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total value of $295,361.60. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,047,246. This trade represents a 22.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total value of $527,319.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,271.36. The trade was a 70.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG stock opened at $212.51 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $201.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $202.58. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $166.21 and a 12-month high of $225.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $42.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.05%.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson plc distributes plumbing and heating products in the United States and Canada. It offers plumbing and heating solutions to customers in the residential, commercial, civil/infrastructure, and industrial end markets. The company also provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, fabrication, and others, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning products under the Ferguson brand name.